Visions Review

 This was my third year going to visions and it was my first time ever having a film in one of the film blocks. Having my film in the festival was an amazing and incredibly nerve racking experience, that I enjoyed in retrospect but at the actual moment of my film being shown I actually nearly vomited, I was so nervous. I also got to take part in the 1 take video race. even though I had been to visions before I had never done the video race and i have to say I had a great time, doing it. I was a little nervous about it at first but it ended up being really fun and I got to meet two really awesome filmmakers that were on my team. as far as the films go, I saw a lot that I was absolutely blown away by, especially from some that were in the same block that I was in. The Provider and Yamashita were probably my favorite in that block just because they hit hard on an emotional level. In the second block my favorite films were probably Beast and Frogboy. Frogboy was so simple and yet so brilliant all at the same time. I actually hung out with Jehan Madhani, the creator of Frogboy and made a good connection with her. While I was there I talked with alot of really cool and talented filmmakers, like Jean Jacques, the director of Beast. Jean Jacques was quite the interesting individual to say the least. My overall impression of the festival itself is quite positive, I always forget that the entire thing is ran by students. It is put together so well that you often forget that it isn’t ran by a professional team. And i know that we weren't supposed to talk about the after party, but in all seriousness, It was really put together quite well and I had an absolute blast.

Weekly Update

So this week, we pretty much have image lock, we're just fine tuning some things, and tightening up some of the clips. on time we are at about 13 1/2 minutes. We also have taken some of the broll from later in the video and put it over the interview section to help break it up a little. The broll along with the new music that we have selected, and put over the interviews really help liven the interviews up. All that we have to do at this point is finish the animations which are starting to look great. other than that everybody is doing great and things are coming along nicely

Film Festival Selections

-Cincinnati Film Festival: We chose this festival because for one it’s not expensive, coming in at $25. We are also able to make it’s deadline since it is in early May. Another aspect about this festival that makes our film well suited for it, is the fact that the festival itself is partnered with the Cincinnati Comic Expo, which makes our film topic perfect for this venue.

-Superman Celebration Fan Film Festival: This festival has been going on for 8 years so it’s starting to get a good following behind it. The main reason that we picked this festival is because the name of the festival itself is based on a comic book character so our film would fit in with the vibe of the festival from the very start. and of course another reason is that the festival is free to submit to so that is always a plus.

-Albuquerque Film festival and Comic Con: This festival was chosen for a lot of the same reasons that the previous two were. It is partnered with a  comic convention. but an aspect about this festival that really stood out to me was the prizes for the categories is a chance to meet with professionals in the film industry in order to pitch ideas for future projects along with a cash prize. The entry fee is also very low at $10, so that helps the decision a lot.

-42nd Student Academy Awards: I honestly didn’t even think about this until the email sent about it, and then I realized that it is free and said well why not? The SAA’s have been going on for 42 years not so they are a very prestigious award ceremony/ festival. Aside from being one of the biggest awards/ festivals for students, the SAA gives filmmakers a chance to get their films out there to a huge audience start networking with fellow filmmakers. Also the top prize for winning is $5000 so enough said.

-Cucalorus Film Festival is a local Festival here in Wilmington that is actually a midsized festival that operates on a very professional level. I have been to Cucalorus before and really enjoyed my experience there and now that I have a film that I could enter, I figured it would be the perfect film festival to try and get into. Cucalorus brings in filmmakers from all over the country and world creating a unique experience that you don’t have to go far to have. the deadline is in June so we can totally make that, and the entry fee is about $25, a little pricier than some but still manageable. another thing I like about Cucalorus is that there is no real awards given as far as saying whose film is better or worse, it seems to be more about showcasing your film and celebrating the art.

-Cyprus Comic Con Film Festival was chosen because well for one we needed a non regional festival and this Con based film festival seemed right up our alley. The festival itself is a bit new at only two years old but the entry fee is low at only $5 for the early bird special and a prize of $2500 in production services to the grand prize and audience favorites. all in all this festival just seemed really fun.

-Scifi Film Festival is in Australia and has a deadline set for August, one the we can certainly make. Once again the theme of this festival had a huge part to play in why we chose it since the sci-fi theme can totally overlap into the genre of our documentary. There are many different categories to enter in this festival and the best Australian film wins 1000 dollars and so does the best international film, so not that the money is the main incentive to enter but it helps the decision a little.

Update: rough cut done

Since we already have all of the footage that we will need, all we did this week past week was edit the footage that we have into a longer rough cut, that gives an outline of how the film will progress.  we haven't gotten to any of the animations or color corrections yet but we will get there soon. other than that I have a friend helping with the website and another friend helping to develop a poster.

Progress update

This past week we decided to get some extra coverage of Brady. The shots that we ended up getting was just of him hanging out at his apartment, playing video games...being a normal college student. The idea behind this to make him even more relatable to the audience. The shoot went well, and the footage is definitely going to make it in the final cut. As far as editing goes, we've went through the interviews and cut them down to the questions that we're going to be using in the film, and we're slowly creating arks for the questions to follow. other than that everything is coming together well.

Update: week of the Con

So this week was the week of the con. we ended up getting enough coverage of brady, so on Tursday we were able to get an expert interview with him. Friday we went to the con as planned and shot for about seven hours, getting Brady's and Crystals reactions to the con and their interactions with other people, and some broll of the con. on Saturday, we mainly focussed on broll and vox-pops of people at the con and we also got follow up interviews with Crystal and Brady. We ended up getting enough footage so we decided to come home on Saturday night and got back in town on sunday morning at about 2. overall it was a super fun trip.

Update: a problem with Brady

So things were going great but we found out that Brady, our second subject has decided to go home for almost all of spring break. we have come to an arrangement, that i think can end up working, where we will end up shooting him making most of the costume but we will miss out on seeing him making the sword. our plan is to then shoot his main interview on Thursday. hopefully it all works out because we leave Friday for the convention.

Update: a big next two weeks

Things are going great with Crystal, the spear is done and she has even decided to dye her hair so that her character can be as realistic as possible, We are still waiting to hear back from Brady. We have plans to to go to the con on March 13th and come back on the 15th. We have permission from the con to shoot as well a place to stay while we're there so things are looking pretty good.

update Broll almost done

So this for week five we've almost finished up Crystals broll. as said last week, her interview came out great. All we have to do with Crystal is get her to finish her staff. We are waiting to hear back from Brady but he should be getting back in tough with us in the next day or so. other than that everything is going as planned.

Update: One Interview Down

So the big accomplishment for this week was getting Memory Lane Comics to allow us to get in and shoot our expert interview with Crystal in their shop. All in all, the interview took about an hour and a half to do. The footage was great, and Crystal had alot of great things to say about the subjects that we talked about, specifically, when she talked about why she has such a special connection to her favorite character Laura Croft. We plan on getting the rest of Crystals costume footage in the can by spring break, and hopefully will be starting on Brady's costume this week, trying to schedule his interview as well. Other than that we are Keeping a pretty good pace with the schedule we set, and are trying to stay on track.

update: Finding a second subject

So this past Sunday when we all met, we interviewed two people to be possible subjects for the person who has never done cosplay before. After interviewing both of  them, we decided to go with the male interviewee, because I felt that it gave the two subjects more diversity. we are in talks with him to see when we can start shooting him building his costume. Other than that we have continued to shoot some b-roll of Crystal, and everyone is doing great.

Weekly update

This week has been really productive; we secured Crystal Santoro as one of our main subjects and all met with her. On Friday we went over to her apartment and got some b-roll of her sewing, and of some of her costumes and fandom she had lying around the house. We were able to get some really interesting shots, specifically, one with a gopro mounted inside of the sewing machine. We have started a gofundme page and are eagerly awaiting updates on it, in order to mainly cover gas, tickets to the convention that we go to, and other traveling expenses. Everyone is doing a great job so far, and I’m really pumped to see what we can accomplish with this project. The only hick-up we have had thus far is really finding a second subject, but we have sent an email to one of the coordinators for the theater department to see if she can get the message out in the department for possible subjects. Other than that, things are going great.

Interview Questions 2

1. What is a basic definition of cosplay? What does it mean to you?
2. How long have you been doing cosplay? When did you first come to know about it? what did you think of it at the time?
3. What was the first cosplay you did? What was the experience like on your first build? Was it hectic, scary, fun, exciting? What were some of the tings you encountered while working on it?
4. What is your process of determining what costume you want to make for your next con? Is there a process of elimination you go through between costume ideas or does it just come to you?
5.  Talk us through the process of the build. From the pre-visualization all the way to the unveiling at the con.
6. What is it like at the con when you first get people's reactions to your creation? are you nervous about their reactions?
7. What is your favorite part about cosplay from the making of the costume to the con itself, what part of it is the most fun for you?
8. Your married, what does your husband think of cosplay? Does he ever do costumes with you?
9.  What are some of the misconceptions that people have about cosplay and the community as a whole?
10. What would you say to someone who is just starting out in cosplay? What advice would you give? What would you say to someone who is contemplating getting into cosplay but is hesitant because they don’t know about how they will be received or have other reservations?

Expert Interview 2- Danielle Hansleman

Danielle Hansleman is a 25 year old cosplayer and seamstress who currently lives in  Wilmington, North Carolina. She has been involved in the cosplay community since she was 20 years old and has been to at least fifteen different conventions, making costumes for most of them. Danielle mostly focuses on anime costumes, but has made cosplays from other genres of entertainment such as Velma from Scooby- Doo. Because she has been cosplaying for so long, she has many stories to tell about her experience in the world of cosplay, and the people within it's culture.

Expert Interview 1- Crystal Santoro

Crystal Santoro is an avid cosplayer/ model who is originally from Johnson City, New York, but currently lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. At twenty two years old, she is a full-time college student at UNCW, and works part-time as a waitress. She has been involved with the cosplay community for over 4 years and brings a vast amount of insight and knowledge about the cosplay community itself to the table. She has self admittedly been to more than twenty conventions, making cosplays for almost all of them. in her last costume contest, at NC Comicon, She took 3rd place overall for her first generation Laura Croft costume.

Expert Interview Questions

1.     What is a basic, Webster’s definition of what Cosplay is? Now what does it mean to you personally?

2.     How old were you when first came to know about cosplay?

3.     What was your first think about it? What was your first reaction to it all?

4.     What was the first cosplay you did? What was the experience like on your first build? Was it hectic, scary, fun, exciting? What were some of the tings you encountered while working on it?

5.     What is your process of determining what costume you want to make for your next con? Is there a process of elimination you go through between costume ideas or does it just come to you?

6.     Talk us through the process of the build. From the pre-visualization all the way to the unveiling at the con.

7.     Describe for us your first con. What was it like, the atmosphere, people and overall mood of it.

8.     What do your friends and family think about you doing cosplay?

9.     What are some of the misconceptions that people have about cosplay and the community as a whole?

10. What would you say to someone who is just starting out in cosplay? What advice would you give? What would you say to someone who is contemplating getting into cosplay but is hesitant because they don’t know about how they will be received or have other reservations?

Cosplay Documentary Research and Pitch

Cosplay’s Webster definition is as followed: the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime. However dressing up in a particular costume is just one part of cosplay. Once you put on the costume, the person actually acts as and becomes the character that they are portraying, hence the “play” aspect. Cosplay started, like most things do, very small and was only talked about in small circles. It is commonly thought that the cosplay originated in japan as a result of Japanese anime fans but in reality the first use of the word cosplay was simply coined by a Japanese reporter named Nov Takahashi, while he was doing coverage for World Con in Los Angeles, C.A. in 1984. In reality, cosplay started as the masquerade contest for World Con in 1939, and slowly, more and more people would dress up in the years to come with the emergence super hero comics and the growing sci-fi and horror film genres. By the mid 80’s, with the help of Marvel and DC comics, Japanese Anime, and sci-fi phenomenon like Star Wars and Star Trek, the geek culture was booming and cosplay (in those small cirlcles) was as well. Fast-forward 30 years and the cosplay culture is almost becoming mainstream. With the help of conventions becoming more and more prevalent in countries all around the world, the cosplay culture has room to grow and is slowly becoming more and more accepted.

From personal experience I can say that there is a lot that goes into making a cosplay. Not just the time and money, but also all of the emotion and nerves that come into play while making it, especially if it is your first attempt at such a feat. I can remember making my first costume and having no idea what I was doing, feeling lost but excited all at the same time, struggling to stitch together the costume piece by piece, and then being overcome with pride and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment as I put it on for the first time and realizing that I had created this work of art if u will. I can remember the nerves, and the feeling of my heart in my stomach as my friends and I arrived at the con and not knowing if I would be laughed at or not, for my creation; a feeling that was quickly erased by the immense sense of belonging and fellowship as my nerdy brethren accepted me for the geek that I am. In this documentary I want to try and capture all of these emotions as our subjects goes through the experience of building his or her first costume and then unveils it at their first con, not knowing what the response will be. By doing this I hope to show cosplay in its purest form, as a novice just entering the cosplay community. In contrast to this perspective I also want to investigate the process of a veteran cosplayer, specifically one who goes to conventions for the purpose of entering costume contest or has some financial stake in the community. I am curious to see if someone from this side of the spectrum is still as passionate about cosplay as someone just starting out, or if by making cosplay a source of income, has corrupted his or her reasons for doing cosplay at all.